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Global Sporting Events
A lasting legacy or a sporting failure?
The legacy of stadiums after a major
international sporting event
examined or discussed by way of attendance to the same
extent as in relation to economic issues and there is therefore
a need for an additional perspective. This paper will
contribute to the legacy and stadium discussion.
Author: Jens Alm
Institution: Danish Institute for Sports Studies/Play the Game,
Denmark
E-mail: jens.alm@idan.dk
Aim of abstract/paper - research question
Previous research has shown that several major sporting
events do generate revenue in the area(s) in which they are
staged, but they also result in major costs for the host cities
and countries and the public expenditure on sports facilities
for major events rarely creates a stimulus and/or a net
impact on the overall economy. But do the new stadiums
result in a lasting sports legacy?
Since major international sporting events have evolved
over the last two decades to become more globalised,
commercialised and commoditised, these events are now no
longer only a matter for Western countries. Several countries
and cities around the globe are applying to host a major
event in the hope of getting economic, political and social
benefits. But instead of examining such effects, we turn our
focus to whether there is an existing internal sports legacy
and a local sporting need for a brand new stadium.
Do stadiums get utilised after the event and is there a
need for international sports federations to improve stadium
requirements for major events?
The aim of this study is to examine whether stadiums built
for a major international or continental sporting event are
utilised after the event and to what extent. It is crucial and of
interest to obtain this knowledge as billions of public funds is
spent on these events and stadiums, but we are not certain
whether the invested money is well spent or results in positive
sports legacy.
Theoretical background
Several scholars have been studying the stadium
phenomenon and the legacy of major sporting events in
terms of economic effects, among them John Siegfried and
Andrew Zimbalist, who find that public subsidies for sports
facilities do not result in an economic boost or lead to a
more vibrant local economy (Siegfried & Zimbalist 2007:
420-427). Victor Matheson states that public expenditures
on sports-related construction or operation have, at best,
zero net impact on local economies and that the investment
on sports projects results, at worst, in true costs (Andreff &
Szymanski 2006: 138), while Harry Arne Solberg and
Holger Preuss have showed that major sporting events do
generate revenue, but only revenue that covers the operating
costs and not the investment costs (Solberg & Preuss 2007:
217). The sport legacies have, however, not been
Methodology
The Danish Institute for Sports Studies/Play the Game used
an index to study the extent to which stadiums built for major
international sporting events are utilised. ‘The World Stadium
Index’, which is based on the relation between attendance
figures and the stadium’s capacity, has made it possible
visualise the utilisation of stadiums and look beyond
construction costs when comparing stadiums. Based on
major international and continental sporting events such as
the Olympics, Football World Cup and European Football
Championship, 75 stadiums in 24 countries were included
in the study. After the initial desk research, a questionnaire
with questions mainly concerning attendance figures and
numbers of events held after the major event was sent out to
stadium owners and operators. Due to a low response rate
(18.6%), qualitative questions and external sources were
included in addition to the quantitative questionnaire.
Results, discussion and conclusions
The results of the study show that numerous stadiums have
had major legacy problems after hosting a major
international or continental sporting event. Several stadiums
have had poor attendance figures resulting in a low index
and external needs and requirements, which are temporary,
are often prioritised over local sporting needs. There is an
obvious need for a revision of stadium requirements in
relation to hosting a major event. The international sports
federations have to decrease stadium capacity requirements
and be more observant of legacy issues when awarding a
country and city an event. Due to present stadium
requirements, only a few countries have the ability to host an
event without making substantial investments in sports
facilities, and it is neither sustainable from a sports nor an
economic point of view for cities to have empty stadiums. It
must be in the interest of both international sports federations
and host countries and cities to create a lasting sports
legacy.
References
Andreff, Wladimir and Szymanski, Stefan (editors) (2006)
Handbook on the Economics of Sport. Edward Edgar
Publishing Limited. Cheltenham, UK.
Siegfried, John and Zimbalist, Andrew (2006) The Economic
Impact of Sports Facilities, Teams and Mega-Events. The
Australian Economic Review, vol. 39, no. 4 pp. 420-7
Solberg, Harry Arne and Preuss, Holger (2007) Major Sport
Events and Long-Term Tourism Impact. Journal of Sport
Management, 2007, 21, 213-234. Human Kinetics
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